The client software is in the public directory on Mercury. Note that there is a client for Windows 95/98/ME and a different client for Windows NT/2000/XP. To get the one you need, you can either ftp (stands for File Transfer Protocol) to Mercury or download it from this page. To do this from your office on campus, you must already have your computer connected to the internet. Also, before you begin, make sure you have at least 30 M free on your hard disk. More would be better, but that's a minimum.
First, create a temporary directory where you will download the software. For example, put it in C:\nwclient. It's best to create a new directory just for this because it will soon contain hundreds of files. It can get pretty messy if you do that in a directory that already contains other files. Click on the appropriate button below and download the file into this directory. If the buttons don't work for some reason, you can go the the Novell download site to get the client that you need.
Now back in Windows Explorer, go to the directory containing the client and double click on it. This will cause it to begin extracting all the files contained within it. If you have the option of which directory to unzip to, select the same directory you created above. There are quite a few files and it may go on for a while. Be sure you know where it is putting the files because you'll need to go there next. When it's finished, close the Unzip window.
Now, find the setupnw.exe file that was extracted and double click on it to begin the setup process. Note that there is also a file named setupsp.exe. You want setupnw.exe. Then follow the instructions on the screen. Select the Typical installation. After it's done you will need to reboot your machine. Before you reboot, read the rest of these instructions. You'll need them to login. When you reboot, you will get a Novell login screen. Enter your Mercury username and password. Click on the Advanced tab and fill in the following:
| Tree: | (blank) |
| Context: | (blank) |
| Server: | mercury.bio.uaf.edu |
You only need to enter the server information once. When it's filled in, click OK and you will be logged in to Mercury. You will most likely then get a Windows login screen. Enter your Windows username and password here and click OK. If you have been logging in automatically to Windows, you may not recall your password. If you have never set your Windows password, it may still be blank. Leave the password entry blank and try logging in. A useful tip: if you set both your mercury and your windows passwords the same, you only need to enter one login screen.
Once you are satisfied that everything is working correctly, delete the files you downloaded and extracted to free up the space.
Happy Computing!
Questions/Comments.
Last updated 20 August 2003